Written by

Cathy Payne
| USA TODAY

At Easter gatherings, tables are laden with a kaleidoscope of candies, cookies, festive punches and, of course, colored eggs.

But some researchers don't have a rosy view of beverages and foods that are artificially colored.

Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says artificial dyes often are used to mask the absence of real food. "They are used instead of real ingredients because they are cheaper, brighter and more stable," he says. ...